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With the Broncos losing (an admittedly amazing entertaining playoff game) Saturday night to Baltimore, it means their season is over and it means offensive coordinator Mike McCoy is now available to negotiate for a head coaching deal. It also would seem like the Cardinals would be in position to figure out their head coaching situation sometime this coming week.

Now, I’m not saying the Cards want McCoy for sure. But none of their candidates — at least, the ones we know of — are impeded from talking contract now. Cards defensive coordinator Ray Horton, McCoy and Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden (and Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley?) are all fully available. There’s been a lot of talk the Cards want McCoy, but that’s assumption rather than anything based on fact. Last week was filled with interviews anyway, so nothing was coming down last week regardless of McCoy’s situation.

We’ll see how it plays out. McCoy has interviewed with the Eagles and Bears already as well as the Cards. All of them were in Denver, so I’d expect a second interview with anybody to come in that city. Gruden has upcoming interviews with the Eagles and Jaguars. There is a report the Jags would like to talk to McCoy. Horton also interviewed with the Bills and Browns, although both spots have already been filled.

Will the Cards have a coach this week? Perhaps. President Michael Bidwill has maintained the whole process he had no set timeline in place and I don’t think there is a rush to get this done. But again, if all the candidates can be hired, it makes sense this moves forward in the coming days.

Centered around a very seasoned coach (Fox), GM, (Elway), best zone blocking line in the league, best left tackle in the league (Clady), three very good running backs, excellent receivers, and of course, Manning — it is hard to sense if McCoy has anything to do with the Broncos offense or their success. I think McCoy is totally untested ala Haley with Warner. My opinion, far too much of a gamble.

I like your first two picks (John the Draft Guy) 3rd should be focused (IMHO) on OL, but I always get a kick out of this stuff…free agency may change everything…but I would really like to see us focus on QB (and I love Wison – not in a weird candles and pictures kind of way) and Lacy would be a great pick…but I am also a big believer in the concept of trusting your board.

Darren: Wouldn’t it seem more likely that if Bidwill knows Horton wont be getting a HC gig next season to keep him at DC, hire McCoy and have good coaches on both sides of the ball instead of just one?

If we’re not going to be able to get Norv Turner as an OC, then I’m not certain I’d want Horton to be the choice at HC. I’d say, go McCoy as HC, and keep Horton at DC (since it’s looking increasingly likely he’ll still be around another year anyway). Horton may feel snubbed and it could lead to his departure next year…or not….

Darren,
Mike McCoy had so much going for him in Denver (Elway; P Manning; excellent OLine-and he didn’t win a playoff game this year. Football Cardinals are not a lucky organization, to give McCoy much less in surrounding talent is a big crap shoot. Who ran the offense in Denver? probably Manning with input from Elway-McCoy had to do a lot of listening but maybe he learned something.
To me, Horton is ahead of McCoy and Horton is a big gamble.

For a team that was very short on skill players a year ago the review you gave their backs and receivers was quite favorable. Amazing what a HOF QB can do to perception. It wasn’t that long ago that Fox was coming off one of the worst seasons a head coach could have.

Anyways, to give you a little more background on McCoy and his resume. With him, Kyle Orton put up some very impressive numbers two seasons ago. Last season, when that illusion was exposed he turned a passing offense into a very formidable run offense on a moment’s notice. He managed to do quite a few things with players that no one else has. To your point, getting production out of Manning, no, not a very big deal. Getting production out of Orton and Tebow, worthy of a head coaching job from the 32nd ranked offense in the league. I was very happy to see Denver lose tonight, a prolonged playoff run may have ruined whatever chances we have at him.

Draft Guy,
I wouldn’t go RB in 2nd rd. You can find a serviceable RB later. A talented OL makes great RBs and QBs. Tyler Wilson is not a 1st rd talent but QBs are always over valued. Maybe if they traded back then I would think about Wilson but not with #7. Really with lewan and Matthews not coming out, there really isn’t a good fit at #7. What was a good top-end OT draft got less attractive when those two decided to go back to school Trade back and then get Fisher or Womack in the 1st. All of the QBs are raw projects so I would look 2nd rd for QB. Wilson or Nassib would be attractive in 2nd round.

I seriously doubt they take Wilson at #7. If Joeckel is there, I gotta believe he would be the pick. If he’s gone I would say take Barkevious Mingo or try to trade down a few spots and take Chance Warmack. There is almost no way they will get Lacy in the 2nd round he will be gone before that.

Also remember that McCoy spent 9 seasons with the Panthers in which most of that time he was the QB coach and passing game coordinator. During that time Delhomme looked pretty good, but fell off the face of the earth when McCoy left for Denver.

Rick,
Agreed if Joekel is there you have to take him. Mingo doesn’t impress me. Trading back is the best option if Joekel is not there at 7. The 12th-15th pick will impact the team as much as Mingo in the 7th. I do like looking at OLB in the 3rd. There will be some solid OLB options in that round.

One other name that is not getting much pub is Pugh out of Syracuse. He has good feet in pass blocking and does well in run blocking. I imagine as the pundits talk more to scouts Pugh’s name will start to move up rounds.

Also Fluker strikes me more as a guard. He is good in run blocking but does not have the feet for pass blocking as a tackle.

Darren,
As we look at HCs, here’s a thought to ponder:
Everyone feels it was the offense that cost Whiz his job. But truth be told it was really the defense- the Cards’ defense on that 1st day in February, 2009. The defense that couldn’t make a stop in SB XLIII.
If the Cards had won that SB, Whiz would have been here for as long as he wanted!

What did I hear Joe Buck say tonight during the 49ers vs. Packers game?
“The 49ers used THREE FIRST ROUND DRAFT PICKS ON OFFENSIVE LINEMEN.”

And, Aikman said “THE OFFENSIVE LINE IS THE HEART OF THE 49er TEAM.”

For all of you fans who want to draft a RB or any other position (other than a QB) in the first few rounds, realize why the 49ers are so much better than the Cards.

For Mike and other fans who believe that “the Cards have recently had great drafts”, why have the 9ers won the NFC West for the last two years and are dominating teams? IT’S THE O-LINE (AND THE QB) STUPID!!!

I say again; When the Cards draft OLinemen in the 4th and later rounds and QBs in the 5th and 6th rounds, you get the talent that comes with those rounds.

Does anyone like Jay Gruden as the Cardinals next head coach? He’s the canidate I’d want most to become the Cardinals next head coach. Just look at what he did with Andy Dalton. Plus his brother is a former NFL head coach that had a pretty good run. Jay even says he gets advice from his brother. So it would be like having Jon Gruden out there on the field coaching the team alongside his brother. Does anyone else think that would be a good idea?

Mark in chandler,
Watching Wilson in 2011, he was a moving into a top 10 pick. He was steered off course in 2012 by things like the co-ed scandal that had Bobby Petrino exit right before the season, all 3 of his wrs leave for the NFL, and one of the worst lines. But I say go back and watch those 2011 games and you will change your mind about being a top 10 pick.

I do agree you can find solid rbs later in the draft. The Redskins showed that this year with Morris. But looking at McCoy’s background and working under John Fox, I assume he will want a power running game. In Carolina, they used high draft picks to put together a solid run offense. Same with Denver and Moreno. Also, if going with a young QB, you better get a rb to take the pressure off him. That is why I am saying we land Lacy.

McCoy might be nothing like Fox and do it completely different. I don’t know. But I have a feeling, he will bring a run game to AZ.

Rick Von,
Will Lacy be gone in the first 40 picks? It is possible. With the resurgence of run games this year, he might be grabbed up. I’m thinking he will still be around though.

As for Wilson, I say the same as above. Wilson is a top ten pick and as the draft approaches, you will see more and more people talking about him high. Joeckel will be gone. But I also believe in the tackles we have. I think much of the issues happened early in the year and much was caused by the poor QBing. Our weak link this year was LG (Colledge) I really think he struggled. I also think Jeff King struggled . Our RBs were terrible at picking up blitzes. So there was many factors that caused a perception of poor tackle play.

Mingo, to me is highly over rated. Darren will tell you, I have wanted a pass rusher for several years. But I dont not believe Mingo is the guy. Watch him against Bama. DJ Fluker handled him easily. Just not impressed with him

Wilson stinks he’s a Petrino system guy. None of Petrino’s qb ever make it. I’m a UofL fan and can list every failed qb example. I do agree McCoy is the choice it only makes sense if you look at how things are playing out. If McCoy drafts Wilson first though he’ll be out of a job in two years.

So hard to say, With Peyton Manning as QB, there are alot of smoking mirrors..is McCoy the answer? It’s way too hard to say considering who the QB of the Broncos is. Peyton calls so many audibles. So the ultimate question is, did McCoy get the Broncos there? or did Peyton? I can’t say…. will be interesting tho…

Horton as HC, Turner OC(fingers crossed), Castillo O-Line coach, DC…TBD. 1st round OL, 2nd OL(take a page out of SF and SEA drafting lineman), 3rd ILB, 4th TE, 5th QB(EJ Manuel if on Board), 6th RB, 7th CB. Pick up Matt Moore so you have a solid backup/starter, give Kolb another chance(with protection), draft a rookie to sit the bench and acutually have time to learn system. FORGET Alex Smith. The common theme for 90% of playoff teams is that they win in the trenches and protect the QB…one last thought(keep calm) it may be wise to think about trading Fitz for picks in the next year if there isn’t a drastic turnaround, there is no point of wasting his talent when we could fill our NEEDS for his trade value.

WOW! What a fantastic game IN DENVER Saturday night; I knew my other bird team had it in them and could do it! So happy for Anquan Boldin and the Ravens!
Don’t know if you caught the announcers speculation that Whisenhunt could end up in Denver as the OC with Peyton Manning if he didn’t get/take the job with the Chargers…wow again! It looks like the Cards will end up with Horton and hope we could land Castillo as 0-line coach. Considering our budget I don’t see anybody knocking down our door and not everybody wants to live in the desert with 120 degrees three months out of the year. I really wish Ray Horton didn’t want to be a HC so bad, I believe the job is overrated, and he would be wasting his talent with unrealistic demands by the fans and no appreciation for his efforts, only to fail (as all Cardinal coaches do eventually). Looks like Q didn’t lose much when he left Arizona!

After watching the 49ers completely dismantle the packers last night I would think I would be callin their OC Norton today if I’m the Bidwills. Granted we don’t have anywhere near the talent at the QB position the way the Niners do with Kapernick at the helm, but Alex Smith is a FA at the end of the year and if I recall they were a pretty good team before Kapernick took over.
Here’s my 2 cents. Hire Norton, get Smith as a FA and draft the best available olineman in the firs round. Can get better really quick.
No coincidendce the Niners have 3 first round oline picks and dominate up front

On a separate note, in light of SF’s decimation of GB last night, anyone else worried that the read option is going to make the 3-4 defense obsolete? Something to consider, with Wilson and Kaepernick now running it to near perfection this early in their careers.

Go AZ RedBirds.
Hire Mike McCoy – Head Coach (he was a good QB coach and OC)
Ray Horton stays as DC (one of his assistants will succeed him as DC here in AZ if he leaves next year)
**Draft one Offensive Line Tackle in the 1st round, and one more within the 2nd or 3rd round picks this year and solidify that Oline for years to come. That will benefit QB, RBs, WRs and TEs.
Keep Kolb as starting QB (he is an accurate QB and will do well with a good line), but draft a QB in the 2nd or 3rd round. To compete for a starting QB with Hoyer also.
**Draft a Running Back in the 4th or 5th round to rotate with Ryan Williams and William Powell.
The Defense is fine, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, just tune it up for next year.

After the Cards name thier new HC this week, personnel decisions are needed. Cap space needs to be created on this team be going to a few players to restructure if possible. Some players will not be resigned, others like Toler, Groves and R. Johnson should be in the next 2 months.

My updated draft.
I would want them to move down a few spots to add additional picks, but if they cannot then here we go:

With Denver out of the playoffs Cardinals will test the water with McCoy – who now will have his pick of HC jobs. Cardinals usually not one to win bidding wars so once McCoy makes his decision expect Cardinals to immediately follow. At this point – with Horton and the defenisive coaches in place- McCoy or Haley would be a great fit. I think Haley gets the nod.

First pick on coaches, HIRE WHIZ BACK!!!!! Man, I was pretty distraught over letting him go, but whatever. I like McCoy , Gruden, and Horton as well. I like McCoy because he can make an offense out of nothing { Tebow and Orton} and still make it to the playofffs. I like Gruden simply because of his attitude and demenor. HORTON is a plain bad ass and I believe in promoting from the ranks, ESPECIALLY if its a good choice. Yes HORTON is a good DC, YES he was a good DB coach, and YES he would be a good HC. Its in his nature, and he is good with connecting with his playersl

HORTON is by far my first choice, then McCoy, and Gruden in that order. THIS is the year to load up on some GOOD O line. Last year they put some time into it as well, keep it up!! WIth a good line it will attract good players. Why spend alot of money on RB<QB and WR if you cant do anything with them? When building a house, start with strong FOOTERS!!!!!

(This team cannot afford to have injury prone players such as Ryan Williams. This team has given him 2 chances and he blew both so don’t expect a return unless he really explodes in the preseason) This team also needs younger and faster players so Holliday, Lenon, and Sanders have to go.

Interesting dynamics/play calling in Denver loss. Gruden stock is rising, and McCoy… fluttering? Hmmmn. Didn’t get a lot to base it on, but Gruden seems to be pretty solid candidate. Oh, to be a fly on the wall…

Fwiw, when you boil it down, our defense might be 3rd best … in our division … and in a fight for that next season with Rams getting better …

Two failures of Cards that have zero to do with QB: we need to run… and stop the run… much better.

As much as I hated to see Whiz go, hard to question l’il B’s moves to get better so far … “Keim just in time”?

Let me see……..the Cards Just promoted from within for their GM and Personnel dept………members of the same crew that has decimated the O-line and paid millions and a 1&2 pick for a QB that they appparently don’t like and want to take a pay cut…….could make you cry, eh? Well, I wouldn’t hire any HC that wanted the Job…….the guy is obviously mentally disturbed…….I might take him if he insisted he had ULTIMATE power over all FA and Draft decisions…….concensus is nice, unless you are trying to form it in an asylum.

If the cards really wanted to be good, there could be a good discussion about what to do in the draft, now that 2 top tackles are electing to stay in school…..Move up for Joeckel or move down for the next best?………as thing are, I say trade all draft picks for EDGERRON JAMES…….a sure fire HOF……Pay him millions and put him on a Poster and a BillBoard……..LOL!!!!

Darren, has their been any thought of bringing SF OC Roman in for an interview Judging from what he has done with Kaepernick, he will garner lots of attention as a Head Coach. I think he could be even a better fit than McCoy.

Why does everyone hate Todd Haley? He turned the Chiefs into a playoff team. I think him being fired from the Chiefs was really due to a lack of chemistry between him and GM Scott Pioli. Haley was able to challenge Fitz, Boldin, and Breaston in order to get them to grow into more formidable receivers. While he certainly benefited from Warner being Warner, I think Warner also benefited from Haley’s style of offense. Roethlisberger hasn’t bought into Haley’s offense and I think that’s another case of personalities clashing. If Big Ben bought in, I think the Steelers would have been a better team.

I’m not saying Haley is my top choice; I like Horton best myself. I’m just curious as to why nobody likes him.

As for the draft, I agree that it’s important to draft OL this year. Bidwell hasn’t given up on Kolb yet (and neither have I). This is a terrible year for QBs. I think the 2014 draft is a much better place to look for a QB if the Kolb experiment ultimately fails in the 2013 season.

I could be wrong (and have been before), but regardless of who we hire at head coach, I really don’t think the 2013 draft is where we need to look for our franchise QB. We need to build a solid foundation on the offensive line. After that, I think we look at RBs. Beanie is done in AZ and Williams needs a solid backup (or replacement) in case he gets injured again.

I’m a big believer in the defense wins championships philosophy, which is why Horton is my top choice (although I would’ve liked to have kept Whiz). I really think Horton is a smart guy who can build an offense here in AZ.

Green 5-11 in 2007………Whiz 5-11 in 2012……..When the new HC goes 5-11 in 2017 can we still count on Bidwill firing him, the GM, and the O staff……..and promising……..THIS TIME IT WILL BE DIFFERENT?………..What about 2022?

I think that the composition of the group would give us an insight into the thinking of Michael i.e. a small group in which he could be almost the sole questioner or a larger group in which he could obtain opinions of several others.

Even though Keim hadn’t been selected as GM yet, was he a participant?
William Bidwill Jr.?, Vice President
Jason Licht, Director of Player Personnel
Quenton Harris? Asst. Director, Pro Personnel

As the final interviews occur (soon we hope), will “the group” become larger or smaller?

Since none of us have an opportunity to know what happens in situations like the interviews, it’s revealing to most of us.

Well, first, I guess we can stop hoping for Norv Turner ( those of us who were, anyway ) as it is being reported on NFL.com that he is expected to be hired by the Browns. Really? The friggin BROWNS??? My God, man, not exactly a dream destination in the NFL, is it? He WAS available. And it ain’t like we took a swing and a miss. We stood there and didn’t even take the bat off our damn shoulders. Good job, Cardinals. Way to let another top notch coordinator go right on by. Ya did it with Wade Phillips a few years ago, and ya just did it again. BUT I guess your personnel decisions have been SO stellar recently that we shouldn’t worrry, right? Nah. I’m sure you’ve got this all under control.

Watching the games this weekend, it becomes apparent just how deeply we are buried in the NFC West. The 49ers and Seahawks now officially have two of THE most dangerous weapons at QB in the NFL – to go along with what were already some of the best running games AND emerging playmakers at WR. Crabtree looks like he is gonna be monster going forward. And we’re coming to this party with Kevin Kolb / John Skelton??? And a pathetic O-line? And RB’s who don’t scare anyone even when they ARE healthy? Yeah….good luck with that. We are SOOOOO far out of contention in our own division right now, it is scary. Heck, never mind the Niners and Seahawks….even the RAMS throttled us twice this year. We may as well be at the bottom of the ocean UNDER the Titanic.

A thought, if I may…..since it appears we are going to be taking a total chance with a coordinator as our next HC, then WHY DON’T WE START LOOKING AT THE D-COORDINATOR IN SEATTLE AND / OR EITHER OF THE COORD’S FROM SAN FRAN??????????????? Seems to me THESE guys are doing MUCH better jobs than friggin Jay Gruden or Mike McCoy or Todd Haley. AND hring either might help weaken a division opponent who is already several stratospheres better than we are right now. AND it would bring someone on board who had intimate knowledge of the inner workings of either of those teams.

But we would rather have Jay Gruden??? Brilliant. Just…..friggin…..brilliant.

For the QB is everything crowd, niners just beat the Pack with Alex smith, a pocket passer with experience, and Kaepernick, a running QB with no experience.

So what did we learn? The team with the best roster wins. My strategey would start with free agency, the Cards gain more talent than they lose during free agency (first time in franchise history). Next, since the Cards pick 7th in the draft let’s commit to getting a better player in each round than the Rams, Niners, and Seahawks. Now hire a coach that can beat the teams with less talent and compete against those with equal talent. Regardless of the QB, stop losing in free agency and the draft. No more losing Dansby, Rolle, and Q in free agency and getting Vonnie Holiday and Rex Hadnot. No more Dan Williams and Levi Browns in the draft and passing on obvious pro bowl talent like Adrian Peterson.

At this point, Horton should be HC by default. Not what I was hoping. Just because other OCs had a good year doesn’t make them a great HC. Someone mentioned Singeltary as DC, that would be interesting? It only works if Horton has a good OC. If Horton is mamed HC you may see a College OC. That may not be a bad thing. The NFC West is showing dominance from former PAC 12 HCs. The PAC 12 is always underestimated by the EAST COAST IDIOT’s.

With all due respect, the “QB is everything” philosophy is not just an opinion held by some – it is an absolute 100% fact in today’s NFL. Look no further than our very own NFC West for all the proof you need. The Niners and Seahawks both have top notch running games AND two of the best defenses in the NFL. And, yet neither of them may have been playing today if not for their young QB’s, NEITHER of whom were known to anyone except their own mama’s when this season started. The Packers were COMPLETELY over-matched and overwhelmed by Kaepernick’s speed and dynamic play-making ability. You said it yourself – did it matter that he has so little experience??? To answer your question of what have we learned? Courtesy of guys like Griffin, Russel Wilson, Kaepernick, we have learned that QB’s don’t have to have 10 years of experience under their belts to win. They can win right away with the right coaches, in the right systems, and with the right players around them. I know, sounds like a foreign language, doesn’t it? That would be because we are Cardinals fans and such concepts continue to elude this clueless organization.

QB’s cannot win all by themselves, that is true. But there ain’t a roster out there that is having success WITHOUT a QB. And that is a fact. If it weren’t, the Bengals and Vikings would still be playing.

Darren,
The young 49ers and the young Seahawks are two of the top three teams in the NFC. Cards can’t expect to close this gap in a year or two. It’s like a baseball team behind by 7 runs in the 3rd inning- we have to begin to chip away. The hiring process has to be for the long term. If I was MB, here are my main questions in bringing in a new HC.
1) what experience do you have in finding and developing young QBs ?
2) what is the base defense that best supports the Cardinals’ personnel
3) what do we do with Larry Fitz?
4) who will you bring in as assistants ?
5) by what positions do we build the team ?
6) Where will we be at the beginning of your 3rd year ?

If they hire horton, my first choice for DC would be Bronco Mendenhall…BYu’s head coach, may be tough pulling him away, but is truly in his comfort zone coaching defense, and would be an absolute monster DC, in the NFC west.
Defenses need to adjust to the new phase offenses that have been created by the Kaepernick’s, RGIII’s and Wilson’s of the world…he can do it.

Horton is my 1st choice because he just microwaved our defense like that, made them special extremely quick amidst a horrible offense. McCoy would be 2nd because he is able to diversify which is super important with him coaching Tebow and then Peyton. He was able to get them into the offenses they prefer to prosper. 3rd would be Gruden but IDK about him though. Bengals don’t have this great explosive offense like New England or Green Bay or Atlanta so wth would we want him? And lastly would be Haley.#Horton as HC Baby!!!

hi georgiebird. the niners and the seahawks are two of the top TWO teams in the nfc west, not two of the top THREE. and that will not change any time soon. and saint louis, by virtue of their coach and their draft picks are better positioned to be the third best team in the division than we are. you do make a good point about fitz. almost everyone thinks it would be crazy to explore moving him but some people have posted that it be done. i agree with them. yes, fitz has been the face of the franchise. he is a good spokesperson, a solid citizen, a good teammate and he has been a tremendous football player. but, i don’t think he is as good as he was. he was largely unproductive this year and i would be surprised if there will be any improvement next year. i don’t think we can blame all of this year’s numbers on our quarterbacks. he can’t seem to get a lot of separation out there and his yards after the catch are unimpressive. he is being paid a lot of money, money that would be better used to build our offensive line, find some guys who can rush the quarterback and who can rush the football. and if he can go someplace else and enjoy continued success then i will be happy for him. i just don’t see it happening here. not any more.

Off the topic here, but I saw your tweet about punt returners trying to return punts from inside the 10. Don’t have a Twitter account so couldn’t respond there, but my bigger pet peeve is that so many are taking FAIR CATCHES around the 7 or 8 yard line. I don’t remember that happening much as a kid watching football but now it seems to occur routinely, and it makes no sense to me… given the crazy ways footballs bounce, a lot of those would end up being touchbacks, some would bounce backward and improve the field position for the returning team anyway, etc. The only real downside for the returning team is if the kicking team ends up downing it on the 1 or 2, restricting your offense and creating the concern of a safety. That happens so infrequently that I can’t see the upside of any fair catch inside the 10.

I’m watching the Head Coaches of San Francisco and Seattle and wondering what is wrong with hiring an HC from the college ranks.

As to someone who needs a proven QB before he can win (Patriots? Maybe.) The winning college coaches are doing it with a system instead of players. Think of this, they have a guaranteed turnover every 4 yrs and most of their players learn the system for 1 – 3 yrs before starting.

A coach Like Urban Meyer and Brian Kelly that can turn a program around in 2 yrs or less, or a coach like Chip Kelly or Nick Saban who can have lasting year after year success are coaches that should be aggressively pursued by NFL teams needing a turnaround.

San Francisco did this, I’d say Seattle did, but Pete did have time as an NFL coach so he’s not really in the same boat.

I’m not saying go to the college ranks and ignore NFL coaches for the new HC, I’, saying teams should stop ignoring the college ranks. There are Head Coaches out there that will win in the NFL. At least, that’ what the 49ers believe.

(Also, many keep saying hire Horton as the HC and bring in …so-and-so as the DC. I believe Darren reported that Ray already knows whom he wants as his DC so we should be saying, “hire Horton as HC and we’ll support his choice at DC.”)

ps. I really like spell check. You can certainly tell when I remember to use it and when I don’t.

Go mr. Bidwill and get us a Super Bowl quality head coach. After all I’ve seen through many decades, I like what I see now and I trust.

I’ve seen a lot of folks calling for the team to make a play for Alex Smith….I am just not so sure he is really any better than Kevin Kolb. He might have a better chance to stay on the field but I don’t think he is anything more than a game manager. Not that there is anything wrong with a game manager but if folks are thinking this is the guy to be our franchise QB I really think they’ll be greatly disappointed. In my opinion if Kolb is healthy he is every bit as good as Alex Smith….Smith put up some pretty good numbers this season but for a much better football team. I’m not necessarily saying the team shouldn’t go after him but my expectations for Alex Smith would be quite a bit lower than a lot of peoples I’m guessing…However with Kolb’s injury history we definitely need options.

The only thing I have to say about Gruden, did you watch him completely abandon the run game in that wild card match? They were averaging 10 yards a carry and only ran 4 times in the first half! They were in the game, too. Makes me wonder…

For those who say the most important aspect of team success is vested in the Lines … I agree. The old saying contains a lot of truth : “The Game is won or lost in the trenches”. So, yeah, line personnel and the quality of their play is hugely important.

Other related topic :

I’d prefer a proven coach over a former Coordinator, so I’d be more or less okay with Gruden over McCoy – considering the people known to have interviewed.

For quite some time, I’ve wanted Martz, Billick or Holmgren far more than selecting from any of the available Coordinators.

I think we have to see that Horton is going to be somewhere else by the end of the 2013-14 season. If he becomes Head Coach, we’re going to take some sort of Hit in Defense. Yes, we could get another, better D Coordinator and because of that the D could actually get better; but point is Horton wants the head honcho gig … anywhere. That doesn’t bode well for the team. If he becomes Head Coach for the Cardinals there will be a loss at D – even though many people think his presence as Head Coach is going to ensure the D remains strong. I don’t think so. I’m thinking the duties of a Head Coach – particularly someone new to being a Head Coach – will spread things thin. Just my two cents. Putting Horton in as Head Coach means three brand new team leaders instead of two. It is and was bad enough that the previous head coach put the team in that position. Now all the current players as well as the newly acquired Free Agents (when those acquisitions are chosen and arrive) and Draftees will have to build relationships with coaching ( just as the Owners will have to build a relationship with them, as well). That’s a ton of changes to absorb.

All in all, if the Bidwill’s go after some of the other capable coaches – even Mularkey – the fact that those former head coaches have done this for years in other settings is a step ahead of resting on the lesser experienced Coordinator choices. Gruden is the only other current Coordinator who’s in a better place for the team due to his prior Head Coaching experience in the Arena League than McCoy or Arians ( if they ever get to the point of interviewing Arians ). I don’t think AFL coaching quite measures up to NFL Head Coaching experience, necessarily, but Gruden’s AFL work is quite a step above NO Head Coaching experience at all. ( And I agree, McCoy likely looks pretty good due to Manning’s efforts ).

It’s way, way better than it was before Horton stepped-in, true, but :

The Run D kept slipping throughout the season. We gave up far too much yardage per game. It’s a glaring HOLE in our overall game. Horton ought to put effort into improving that aspect. He wants to be named the Head Coach after having improved the Cards D. But the actual point is they are “improved” over what we were before his arrival. We are not “Good” in the sense of Complete … we’re just NOT that good. I thoroughly appreciate the noticeable amped-up Cardinals Defense, but if a team cannot beat us through the air, they CAN beat us on the ground … let’s not forget the 11 losses. It would be horrible to pin 11 losses all on the poor Offense. Please, let’s Not be fooled by our own people.

I don’t blame you for not saying who you’d pick. The 2010-2012/13 seasons have been so bad that, as the host/webmaster, you’re the point-man and having to stand in the teeth of the wind against the onslaught of an 100% disgruntled fan-base. Not an enviable position to be in.

Be that as it may : it’s safe to say every one of us wants the team to break into the realm of greatness and remain a fixture there, whichever way it’s done ( we just have a bunch of different ways in mind to get that accomplished).

Wm. McCoy,
yer a visionary! Especially KURT for Oc (or Hc?), and stealing Kellen Moore, who bested Kaepernick 2 out of 3 times in college and 3 out of 3 times, stats wise, from the Lions. Draft Oline 1st, 2nd rounds, then Boise State’s speedster Rb in the 3rd!
Ah, well, one can dream…..

It doesn’t seem that the “Flight Plan” has really been much of a plan and the Card’s passive approach to recruiting a proven HC, or even interviewing an impressive field of candidates reflects the mindset and identity of the Cardinals. It’s difficult to imagine seriously being a threat to any of our other NFC West teams with such a soft and passive personna; established by the front office. I do agree with Mr. Bidwell when he said we need a “football guy”, making these important decisions; their body of knowledge about, not only the game, but also contacts and the nuances of the inner workings/politics of the NFL is something that comes from walking the walk and not just talking the talk. In this regard, Jay Gruden, Ray Horton or even Brian Shottenheimer or Kyle Shanahan would be good picks, aside for Bruce Arians, Greg Roman or Gus Brady (doubt that I would touch anything to do with the Seahawks as that organization’s integrity has declined with the hiring of Pete Carroll and the cloud of impropriety that follows him everywhere he’s been).
We’re gonna need a QB and an O-line and there’s going to possibly be some good talent out there in Chas Daniels, Alex Smith, Matt Moore or Matt Flynn. Kevin Kolb’s salary is set to cost us $9M for somebody who is on IR half the season and while he may be a nice guy, what we need is a tough guy who has proven successful.
I’m proud of our Organization and the good works and humanitarian efforts we are so involved with however, in a business where image is everything, we need to be more AGGRESSIVE. It should start with AGGRESSIVELY pursuing a top and proven candidate for HC followed by AGGRESSIVELY doing whatever it takes to build a big, mean and tough 0-line and then AGGRESSIVELY going after the best QB. We need to be taken seriously and if we can keep our defense in tact, we can be a contender again:)